George Russell is off to a good start at the 2026 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Yes, the Formula 1 grid is up and running on a Thursday. We hope you don't forget that the Azerbaijan GP race is happening on a Saturday this year, as you won't want to miss out on the action on the streets of Baku.
Russell starts strong at Baku
It's just Free Practice 1, but if you're George Russell, you want to secure any small wins you can get. The Mercedes driver set the fastest lap in FP1 with a time of 1:45.387, holding off Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
Russell needs to deliver an excellent performance at Baku if he wants to either stay in championship contention or maintain control of second place. Hopefully, he can accomplish both.
Drivers encounter issues in FP1
Russell's teammate, Kimi Antonelli, had to end his practice session early due to an alleged hydraulic issue. Williams' Carlos Sainz Jr. also had to return his car to the garage after finding out that his brakes were on fire.
Meanwhile, Isack Hadjar, who returns from a three-race injury layoff, put in a limited number of laps due to a power unit issue in his Red Bull. McLaren's Oscar Piastri also had his car checked out by the mechanics in the middle of the session, but eventually returned to finish in sixth place.
Audi brings the most upgrades to Baku
In a bid to get ahead of Haas for seventh place in the Teams' Standings, Audi has delivered 14 upgrades for the Azerbaijan GP, the most for any team this week. McLaren comes in second with eight upgrades, Williams has five, Red Bull has four, while Cadillac and the Racing Bulls have three.
Most notably, Mercedes and Ferrari are not bringing upgrades to Baku, as are Aston Martin, Haas, and Alpine.
The most interesting here is McLaren's upgrade package, which could help them further take the fight out front. Lando Norris has trimmed his deficit to George Russell to just 25 points for second place, putting more pressure on the Mercedes driver.
Aston Martin drivers to receive grid penalties
Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll have been given grid penalties for introducing new engine components. F1 says that there's no confirmation yet on the exact penalties for each Aston Martin driver, but expect Alonso to start at the back of the grid on Saturday.
It will be another difficult race for Aston Martin, but Alonso's new internal combustion engine (ICE) might help him produce a few overtakes.
